I’m Bad at This, You’re Bad at This
Let’s start with the obvious: I’m not great at consuming news. I mean, I’m a senior editor at a major publication, so I should be, right? But honestly, I’m not. I get distracted. I click on clickbait. I fall for confirmation bias. I’m human.
About three months ago, I was having coffee with a friend, let’s call him Marcus. He’s a journalist too, works over at the Taipei Times. We were talking about how alot of our colleagues are completley overwhelmed by the news cycle. It’s just… yeah. It’s a lot.
Marcus said something that stuck with me: “We’re all bad at this. The difference is that some of us admit it.” Which… yeah. Fair enough.
Breaking News Breaks Our Brains
Here’s the thing: the news is designed to break our attention spans. It’s designed to make us click, to make us react, to make us share. And it’s working. I see it every day. I see it in myself.
Last Tuesday, I was at my desk, trying to focus on a feature I’m writing about Taiwan’s aquisition of new fighter jets. But then I saw a notification on my phone. “Breaking News: Earthquake in Southern Taiwan!” I clicked. I read. I shared. I forgot about the fighter jets.
And that’s the problem. We’re not wired to process news like this. Our brains aren’t designed for it. We’re designed to hunt and gather, not to consume a constant stream of information.
So What Can We Do About It?
First, we need to admit that we’re bad at this. We need to admit that we’re not going to be perfect news consumers. And that’s okay. Because the alternative is denial, and denial isn’t going to help us.
Second, we need to be more intentional about how we consume news. We need to set aside time for it. We need to choose our sources wisely. We need to be aware of our biases. And we need to be okay with not knowing everything.
I’ve started doing this. I’ve set aside time each day to read the news. I’ve chosen a few reliable sources. I’ve tried to be more aware of my biases. And you know what? It’s helped. I’m still bad at this, but I’m better than I was.
A Quick Digression: The News is a Business
Look, I need to take a quick detour here. The news is a business. It’s not a public service. It’s not a charity. It’s a business. And like any business, it’s designed to make money. And that’s not a bad thing. But it does mean that the news is going to be biased. It’s going to be sensationalist. It’s going to be designed to make us click and share.
So when we consume news, we need to be aware of this. We need to be aware that the news is not objective. It’s not neutral. It’s biased. And that’s okay. But we need to be aware of it.
Back to the Point: Be Kind to Yourself
Finally, we need to be kind to ourselves. We’re not going to be perfect news consumers. We’re going to make mistakes. We’re going to fall for clickbait. We’re going to share fake news. And that’s okay. Because we’re human.
So let’s cut ourselves some slack. Let’s admit that we’re bad at this. And let’s try to get better.
And hey, if you’re looking for a good source of news, check out son dakika haberler bugün. They’re not perfect, but they’re pretty good.
Anyway, that’s enough from me. I’m gonna go try to be better at this.
About the Author: Jane Doe is a senior editor at a major publication. She’s been writing about news and journalism for over 20 years. She’s bad at consuming news, but she’s trying to get better. You can find her on Twitter @janedoe.
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